Warm-up: Passing and finishing
Organisation
- Organise players into small teams of 6-8 and make up a relay course
- The players can be in lines or patterns and you can choose different ways for them to send and receive the ball, with the last player always shooting into a goal
- Players keep switching positions so that they all get the chance to shoot and score
- Be creative, adapt to the players' abilities and make it a race to keep it fun and exciting
Ways to make the exercise easier
- Keep the players close together and allow them to throw and catch the ball
Ways to make the exercise harder
- Increase the distance between players
- Add extra balls or make the challenge more difficult
- Add goalkeepers from other teams to try and stop the ball
Great questions to ask the players
- Can you work together as a team?
- Can you take great care in making sure the last player scores in the goal?
- Can you race the other teams and make lots of noise when you finish?
Safety Points
- Create a safe space to play
Skill development: Touch the cones
Organisation
- Organise an outer circle for 8-10 players and an inner circle that contains some targets/cones. Ask for two or three volunteers to protect the targets and the players on the outside have to see how long it takes them to knock them all down
- The players take turns to have a go at protecting the cones, and the winners are those who protect them for the longest!
Ways to make the exercise easier
- Only one player protects the cones
- The players on the outside roll the ball to start with
Ways to make the exercise harder
- Increase to three players protecting the ball/cones/targets
- The players have to kick/pass the ball to hit the targets
Great questions to ask the players
- When you are defending the cones, can you stay on your toes and keep looking all the time?
- When you are attacking, can you try to shoot when the defender is not looking?
Safety Points
- The players should try to keep the ball on the ground
- Create a safe space to play
Game application: 4v4v4, 3 goals, no goalkeepers
Organisation
- Organise three teams of 4-5 players; you can have uneven teams if needed
- Each team defends its own goal and tries to score in the other two
- All players play at the same time, so they compete against two other teams
Ways to make the exercise easier
- You can play with more than one ball
Ways to make the exercise harder
- Each team can have a goalkeeper
Great questions to ask the players
- Can you try to play as a team?
- Can you identify the other two goals that you need to score in?
- Can you try to defend your own goal?
Safety Points
- Create safe zones between other pitches if you have them